Basket for jar

ABSTRACT

A basket member is provided that may be secured within the mouth of a jar. The basket member may sit between the lip of the jar and a lid enclosure. A packet (e.g., humidity control, oxygen removal, humidity removal) may be placed in the basket, thus keeping it separate from the jar contents. A lid member may be threadedly engaged with the jar member when the basket member is secured within the jar member.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to humidity control for semi-dried food and consumables. More particularly, the invention relates to a basket that may be retained within a jar in which a packet such as a humidity control packet may be placed but separate from contents of the jar.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Consumers eat and consume many products that are semi-dried, such as herbs and cigars. Those products typically require some sort of humidity control to prevent them from drying out too much. Such products must be stored in containers that are specially made to include humidity control, such as herb preserver containers or cigar humidors. These containers that serve one principal purpose are not the best uses of space or resources. A good solution would involve minimally adapting existing containers to have humidity control capabilities.

One example where a container is adapted to serve as a humidity controller may consist of simply putting water in the bottom of a jar before sealing it or placing a plastic bag over it. This can lead to oversaturation of the herbs or make a mess if the jar is spilled. Another existing jar can be modified as a grow kit. Baskets used with such a jar are retained within the mouth of the jar, but are configured for growth, not humidity control. As such, they include wicks that allow water to reach herbs being grown in the baskets. Further, because the herbs are larger than a humidity control packet (or other packet), the baskets are deeper than desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein is a basket that may be secured within the mouth of a jar. The basket is preferably of a size and shape such that it may sit between the lip of the jar and the lid enclosure. A packet (e.g., humidity control, oxygen removal, humidity removal) may be placed in the basket, thus keeping it separate from the jar contents.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a jar and basket constructed according to the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the jar and basket of FIG. 1 further including a lid enclosure;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the jar, basket, and lid enclosure of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the basket of FIGS. 1-3; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the basket of FIGS. 1-4.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof is shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiment disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a jar and basket system 1. The jar and basket system 1 is preferably made up of a jar member 5 and a basket member 10. The basket member is preferably of a size and shape such that it may be contained within an upper portion 15 of the jar member 5. A packet (not illustrated) such as a humidity control, oxygen removal, humidity or humidity removal packet may be placed within the basket member 10 separately from contents within the jar member 5. Contents within the jar member 5 may be, for example, herbs, produce, plants, or any other substance in need of humidification and/or dehydration. When the basket member 10 is retained within the jar member 5, a lid member 20 (described below and illustrated in FIG. 2) may be selectively engageable with the jar member 5 in a manner known and understood in the art (e.g., threaded engagement).

FIG. 2 better illustrates the various components that make up the basket and jar system 1 including the lid member 20 that is engageable with the jar member 5. Like other lid members, the lid member 20 includes each of a threadable ring 25 and a circular disk 30. As known and understood in the art, the circular disk 30 may be retained within the ring member 25 when the lid member 20 is engaged with the jar member 5. The jar member 5 further may include thread members 35 that may be engaged to thread members 40 of the ring member 25 when the lid member 20 is engaged to the jar member 5 in a known manner.

Turning to FIG. 3, the basket member 10 is retained within the jar member 5 with the lid member 20 engaged to the jar member 5. In the illustrated embodiment, when the lid member 20 is engaged to the jar member 5, thread members 35 may be engaged with thread members 40. With the basket member 10 retained within the jar member 15, the lid member 20 is preferably able to close using the above-described threaded engagement mechanism.

As provided in FIGS. 4 and 5, the basket member 10 may be received within the upper portion 15 of the jar member 5 and secured therein by a lip member 45 that extends around the circumference of an upper portion 45 of the basket member 50. The lip member 45 of the basket member 10 preferably has a diameter that is close to or the same as the diameter of a mouth 55 of the jar member 5. The lip member 45 also preferably has a width 60 that is just greater than a thickness 65 of the upper portion 15 of the jar member 5. The basket member 10 may thereby sit within the mouth 55 of the jar member 5 securely when it is placed within the jar member 5.

The basket member 10 may include a plurality of apertures, holes, slots, or some combination thereof to allow for fluid communication between the basket member 10 and the jar member 5. Any packet that is used to control the humidity or oxygen of contents within the jar member 5 is thereby in fluid communication with the contents of the jar member 5.

More particularly, in the illustrated embodiment, vertical slots 70 are positioned and located around an inner circumference 75 of the basket member 10. Some of the vertical slot members 70 extend only to a bottom surface 80 of the basket member 10, such as slot member 70A. Other slot members 70 such as slot member 70B extend down to the bottom surface 80 of the basket member 10 and onto the same bottom surface 80 (or surface) of the basket member 10. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a plurality of lower slot members 85 are arranged in a radial pattern on the bottom surface 80 of the basket member 10. In alternative embodiments, other apertures, slots, and/or holes may be used to allow the contents of the basket member 10 to be in fluid communication with contents of the jar member 5. In any such alternative embodiment, the apertures, slots, and/or holes should allow for fluid communication between the basket member 10 and the jar member 5.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the various embodiments of the present invention are well adapted to attain all the objectives and advantages hereinabove set forth together with still other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the present structures. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations of the present embodiments are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Since many possible embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, it is also to be understood that all disclosures herein set forth or illustrated in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. The various constructions described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the concepts, principles and scope of the present invention.

As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required.”

Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present constructions will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A basket and jar system, the system including: a jar member for containing a first substance; a basket member for containing a second substance; and a lid member that is selectively engageable with the jar member; wherein when the lid member is engaged to the jar member, the basket member is securely contained within the jar member.
 2. The basket and jar system of claim 1, wherein when the lid member is engaged to the jar member, the first substance and the second substance are in fluid communication with one another.
 3. The basket and jar system of claim 1, wherein the basket member includes at least one of a plurality of holes, slots, and apertures.
 4. The basket and jar system of claim 1, wherein the basket member includes a lip member that projects outwardly from an upper portion of the basket member that engages an upper portion of the jar member when the basket member is placed within the jar member.
 5. The basket and jar system of claim 1, wherein the basket member includes a plurality of vertical slots that circumscribe the basket member.
 6. The basket and jar system of claim 1, wherein a bottom surface of the basket member includes a plurality of slots arranged in a radial pattern.
 7. The basket and jar system of claim 1, wherein the lid member and the jar member are selectively engageable with one another via a threaded engagement.
 8. The basket and jar system of claim 1, wherein the basket member is configured to contain a humidity packet.
 9. A basket member for selective engagement with ajar member, the basket member including: at least one of a slot, aperture, and hole to allow for fluid communication between the jar member and the basket member; and wherein when the basket member is engaged to the jar member, the basket member is securely contained within the jar member.
 10. The basket member of claim 9, wherein the basket member includes a lip member that projects outwardly from an upper portion of the basket member that engages an upper portion of the jar member when the basket member is placed within the jar member.
 11. The basket member of claim 9, wherein the basket member includes a plurality of vertical slots that circumscribe the basket member.
 12. The basket member of claim 9, wherein a bottom surface of the basket member includes a plurality of slots arranged in a radial pattern.
 13. The basket member of claim 9, wherein a lid member is selectively engageable with the jar member via a threaded engagement.
 14. The basket member of claim 9, wherein the basket member is configured to contain a humidity packet. 